


Five Christmas Traditions -- Four Juliet O'Hara Gained and One of Her Own

by kikitheslayer



Category: Psych
Genre: 5 Things, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Humor, Post-Canon, Psych Secret Santa 2015, Traditions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-23
Updated: 2015-12-23
Packaged: 2018-05-08 15:44:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5503454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kikitheslayer/pseuds/kikitheslayer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set the Christmas after the finale, Juliet is officially welcomed into the world of Spencer/Guster holiday traditions.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Five Christmas Traditions -- Four Juliet O'Hara Gained and One of Her Own

I. 

The door swung open, letting in a gust of cold air and a few flakes of snow. “I’m back,” called Gus. He took a step into Shawn and Juliet’s living room, grinning jovially, arms wrapped around a brown cardboard box.

Juliet turned, setting down a mug of hot chocolate and quickly rising to take it from him and allow him to shed his damp coat and boots. “So, what’s in here exactly?” she asked, setting the box on the coffee table.

Shawn crouched next to her, and Gus joined them. “Thirty years of history,” he replied. His hands shot out to grab Juliet’s as she tried to pull open the cardboard flaps. “Jules,” Shawn said, “with this box comes great responsibility. Are you prepared to be initiated into the world of Spencer/Guster holiday traditions?”

She smiled, meeting his eyes. “Yes.”

“Okay. Gus, do the honors?”

Gus nodded. “Repeat after me. I, state your name--”

“I, Juliet O’hara--”

“--Swear to take part in and uphold the integrity of these traditions.”

“--Swear to take part in and uphold the integrity of these traditions.”

He and Shawn nodded at each other. “You’re ready,” said Shawn, removing his hands and watching closely as she opened the box.

She took in the contents of the box while they awaited her reaction. “...I honestly don’t know what any of this means.”

Shawn reached in and pulled a large, polyester stocking, red with white trimming. He turned it around, so that Juliet could clearly see the name “Dave” written on it in loopy green script. “Tradition number one.”

“We found at Dollar Tree,” explained Gus with a shrug, “now we hang it up every year in memory of Daves everywhere.”

“Okay…” said Juliet. She took the stocking and stood, crossing the room and laying it in front of the fireplace.

“And so it begins.”

Gus turned to Shawn. “Dude, we went over this last Christmas. It is the holidays, and I am not gonna handle you being needlessly ominous.”

II.

“So,” said Juliet, propping herself up from her where she was laying down on the couch, “explain to me exactly what it is you’re doing.”

Shawn and Gus paused in unison. They were standing in Shawn and Juliet’s living room, poised in front of a medium-sized fake Christmas tree. Their hands were full of multicolored, plastic tinsel, and the same was covering the front of the tree.

“Another holiday tradition,” said Shawn. “Basically, in the olden days--”

“Like, the sixties.”

“Right. So, apparently, not only was tinsel made of lead, but many families used it to decorate their trees by chucking it at it from a distance.”

“Let me guess,” said Juliet, “you were jealous?”

“Exactly.”

Juliet set down the mug and stood up. “Let me get in on this,” she said, taking a strand from Gus. She smushed it into a ball and threw it. It clung to the side of the tree and looked… truly terrible. She took a step back, placing a hand on her hip. “That is fun,” she said.

A few minutes and several yards of tinsel later, Gus said, “Juliet, do you want the honor of doing the top of the tree?”

She laughed, taking the offered red strand. “Sure.” She made a large show of preparing her throw, before tossing it. It landed on the top of the tree and mostly stuck. Shawn and Gus applauded.

III. 

Juliet wiped her flour dusted hands on her apron. “In the oven,” she said. Shawn and Gus had explained that pacing yourself was important, so they had taken a break to bake cookies. The bright kitchen smelled like cinnamon and every surface was strewn with sprinkles. “What’s next?”

Shawn said, “Next we prank call my dad.”

“I meant of your traditions.”

“Hey,” said Shawn, “normally I prank call Lassiter. It takes a special occasion for this one.”

“I’m sure.” Juliet untied her apron and pulled her hair back. She sighed. “You may as well go on.”

Shawn pulled out a phone out of his pocket. “Disposable,” he explained.

“Does Henry know it’s you yet?” asked Gus, rolling some dough into a ball between his hands and popping it into his mouth.

“He can’t prove it. I like to think around this time of year he’s sitting on edge around the phone waiting for the inevitable.” He paused. “I do miss him.”

Juliet said, “You’re going to ask if his refrigerator is running, aren’t you.”

“Please,” replied Shawn. “We did that last year.”

He reached into the box on the table and pulled out a folder. He opened it, taking out two white sheets and passing one to each of them. Juliet took one look and burst out laughing. She took in the small, three by three bingo sheet. Hers included such squares as, “he hangs up without saying anything”, “I am a cop, and I will trace this phone call”, and “I KNOW IT’S YOU SHAWN (free space)”.

Shawn handed each of them a pencil. “Let’s go,” he muttered, dialing Henry’s number.

“Hello?” came the voice on the other end. 

He shot them a thumbs up and put the phone on speaker.

“Excuse me,” he said in a high-pitched voice, “is Mr. Wall there?”

“Shawn,” Henry warned. “I know this is you. You pull this crap every year. And I--”

“Excuse me, sir, you seem to have me mistaken. I called because I’m wondering--”

“Juliet, if you’re listening, quit indulging him.”

Shawn cleared his throat. “Sir, please. i have to know -- is Mr. Wall there? I’m afraid it’s urgent.”

“No, no there isn’t a Mr. Wall here.”

“Oh, my, it’s more serious than I thought. One more question--”

“Please leave me alone.”

“Is there a Mrs. Wall?”

“No, okay, Shawn? There are no Walls here.”

“So…” began Shawn, “what exactly is holding up your house?” He fumbled with the phone as he hurried to disconnect, but they caught the beginning of Henry’s rant. It contained a lot of expletives.

Juliet looked over Gus’ shoulder. “I won,” she said.

Gus shook his head. “It’s not my fault. I would have won with “Guster you’re better than this.” Your engagement ruins everything.”

Juliet smirked. “Don’t I know it.”

Shawn pointed, setting down the phone. “Hey, uncalled for.”

“Love you.”

IV.

“That cannot exist.”

Shawn held up a finger. “Au contraire, Jules. Ziggy’s Gift. A holiday staple, in, I might add, mint-condition.” He held up an old dvd case the cartoon character smiling and wrapped in a scarf and santa hat.

She took it from him. “Oh my god, this won an Emmy?”

“Yeah, only one. Can you believe it?”

She shook her head. “No. Don’t you own any normal Christmas movies?” She resumed digging through the cardboard box full of movies remembered by Shawn, Gus, and on average two Rotten Tomatoes users. “A Very Brady Christmas? Really?”

“Please stop insulting holiday classics.”

“Can’t we just watch Rudolph?”

“Not a tradition.”

“For literally everyone but you it is.”

“Hey,” said Shawn, “we can watch Rudolph. But you made a commitment to see these traditions to the end, and Ziggy’s Gift is part of that.”

“How ‘bout Die Hard?”

“Compelling. But you’re not getting out that easy.”

Juliet bit her lip. Finally, she knit her brow and said, “Okay, here’s the deal: I watch this, and I get to add a new tradition to the box.”

Shawn and Gus shared a glance. “We can work that,” said Gus slowly. “Do you already know what you’re proposing?”

Juliet shrugged. “I’ll figure it out. Come on. We can open that popcorn tin McNab sent us while we watch.”

V.

The three bunched up together on the couch, passing the tin from one person to another while the movie played on the TV. Juliet took the time to ponder long and hard over her tradition while pretending she still found nothing appealing about the movie.

“So,” Gus asked while the credits rolled, “do you know what you want to do?”

Juliet nodded. “Yep. Just let me get a few things together first.”

\--

“This isn’t fair,” whined Shawn.

“You’re just jealous,” snorted Gus. He picked up a bottle of silver glitter and began liberally applying it to the top of his box.

“Jules,” Shawn complained, “Gus’s diorama is better than mine.”

“I’ll say,” muttered Gus.

“Guys!” cried Juliet. “These crafts are supposed to be fun!” She paused. “And anyway, you’re both better than Carlton.”

Shawn laughed. “True that.”

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. So, I don't know if the tinsel thing is wide-spread or not, but both my parents seem to know about it, so.
> 
> 2\. Yes, Ziggy's Gift is a real thing. No, I have not watched. If any of you do, let me know how it is.


End file.
